The word “spoiler” is something Cornel West would rather not hear.
In 2020, the former public intellectual who ran for president as an independent was (kind of) on Biden’s side. Now he’s running for president himself, and he claims he’s doing more than simply making President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign more difficult.
I present my offerings in this way. By Thursday, West had made it clear that he would not accept votes from those who did not believe in him or who saw him as a spoiler. “You should have voted for Biden then if you ended up seeing me as a spoiler instead of him.”
West visited AWN headquarters on Thursday for an extensive, hour-long chat, during which he discussed numerous topics, including his campaign trail and the crisis in American higher education.
This excerpt from today’s interview pertains to West’s role in the 2024 election. He told AWN that his campaign is trying to get on the ballot in dozens of states, and that his candidature is about more than just being a spoiler for Biden.
The goal in editing this discussion was to make it shorter and easier to understand.
Please tell me the length of time that you have contemplated a presidential candidature, and if you would be running as an independent or third party.
That caught me off guard in terms of my decision-making. I’ve made it clear time and again that I would rather be in a crack house than in the White House. I’ve stated it before, but the reason is that the White House is far more corrupt than before. Whoever is in there, I couldn’t care less.
“Oh, so you’re saying that you’ve changed your mind?” Totally correct. I reconsidered. For what reason did I reconsider? Who has spoken out for the poor? When I glanced up, I saw the tradition that gave birth to me and my family not represented. With widespread incarceration, who has been present? Imperial policies don’t interest anybody.
By the way, how many states do you anticipate being listed as an elector in?
By March Ides, we will have reached 15. We anticipate reaching 30 by early summer and aim for 40 by November.
Therefore, only half of them?
All fifty are in our sights. It is possible, though, that we will not. So deeply rooted is the corporate duopoly. It’s mind-blowing. What about New York? We have some very steep hills to climb, I’m sure of it.
Who are you intending to attract as voters? Are you trying to attract Trump supporters? Find out which people voted for Biden!
The vote of people aged 18 to 29 is a significant bloc. Over two-thirds are against both of them. In contrast to many of the elderly, I’ve found that young people are more worried about the environmental catastrophe when casting their ballots. Voters under the age of 25 are very worried about Biden’s broken promises on student loans. When it comes to voting, young people are more receptive to ethnic, multiracial, and cross-cultural perspectives.
Contrary to popular belief, I am not merely referring to the youth vote. Black voters chose us. Our union vote was successful, and later today we will meet with the Teamsters. On Tuesday, we will be travelling to Detroit for ‘Arabs for West.’ In light of the current crisis in Gaza, many Arab brothers and sisters are expressing their gratitude to Biden for everything that he has done for them.
Are we going to win with that many?
I’m not sure.
Some people have a lengthy history of being considered spoilers. Does that concern you? Could you perhaps play the role of spoiler rather than winner?
I refuse to be classified as a spoiler. No, I truly don’t. Voting for Biden plus Trump is the same as voting for both candidates. And there might be segments of the population that claim, “I would have voted for Biden if West hadn’t won.” It doesn’t seem like a spoiler to me. How can one become the spoiler if they are running for office and successfully argue their case and receive their supporters’ votes?
Would you rather see former president Trump elected than Joe Biden re-elected? I only wish to verify the veracity of that assumption.
On a domestic level, Trump is my primary concern. Regarding international policy, I am more worried about Biden. I simply will not make a choice between that other gangster option.
[Note to editors: he had previously referred to “brother Trump” as a “neo-fascist pied piper leading the country to a second civil war.” ] Additionally, he stated, “I see brother Biden as a milquetoast neoliberal with military adventurism, possibly leading the world to World War III.”
I was wondering if you supported Biden in 2020.
No.
Your vote: who won?
Upon entering, I cast my ballot for a revolutionary. Now, I had openly backed Biden, but I just couldn’t pull it off once I was inside. No way would I harm my comrades in the mass incarceration regime, who hold Biden in high esteem as their architect… Although I openly rallied for him in an effort to join an anti-fascist coalition, something struck me—maybe it was the Holy Spirit—the moment I stepped foot in that room.
Even though you openly stated your support for Biden, you did not cast a ballot for him. What sets them apart from the other politicians you’ve spoken out against?
Current residence: Cambridge. No matter what happened, I had a feeling that Massachusetts would vote Democratic. It was simply tension; you are constantly surrounded by tension. My feelings would have been different if I had been in Florida rather than Wisconsin.